Turnout at Lamar slow, but brisker than expected

No one would confuse the election-day scene at Lamar Elementary today with the democracy-gone-wild crowds that packed polling sites for last year’s Texas Two-Step Primary, but the slow, steady trickle there this morning exceeded expectations.

Brad Kistler, an election official at Lamar, said he initially doubted that the school would draw 50 voters all day, but they hit that admittedly low threshold by noon.

“Normally, in these types of elections we don’t get hardly anybody. I figured we’d be reading magazines all afternoon, but we haven’t been sitting for long,” Kistler said.

George Wilson, a 61-year-old military retiree who cast his ballot at Lamar, said voting for Proposition 1 — which would allow for cities and counties to generate funding to buy buffer property around military posts and pay for nearby infrastructure — is a particularly high priority for him.

“Having been a member of the military for almost 40 years and served out of Camp Bullis on many different occasions for training, it’s extremely important to the community,” Wilson said.